All the Green Lights and a Couple of Blue Ones, by Doug Grady

All the Green Lights and a Couple of Blue Ones, by Doug Grady

Have you ever had one of those days when you hit all the green lights? When progress seemed effortless? When you were simply unstoppable? Sometimes it helps to slow down.

I live in an area of Atlanta called Buckhead near Peachtree Rd, one of the busiest streets in Atlanta. I was running late for a meeting one morning, heading north on Peachtree. There were exactly 17 traffic lights on the 3 ½ mile stretch between my home and my destination. Never in my 10+ years in Atlanta have I ever had the experience of hitting all the green lights on this road, until this day. It was like the parting of the Red Sea- every light was green! I couldn’t believe my good fortune as I raced toward my destination unencumbered by those pesky red lights. According to my calculations, I might make it to my meeting with a minute to spare! At the height of my excitement, approaching green light #11, I noticed several additional lights of the color blue flashing in my rear view mirror. The nice officer gave me a yellow piece of paper which read “57 in a 35 mile an hour zone.”

This got me thinking. What if the obstacles along the way to our goals were actually there to help us? Is there such thing as getting to your goals too quickly? What if the pain of delay is actually saving you from a far greater pain?

There are 3 "P's" I lacked on the way to my goal:
1. Preparation: Leaving just 7 minutes earlier I would have provided plenty of time to make it to my meeting.
2. Presence: I was not present to my speed nor was I tuned in to the fact that Peachtree Rd tends to have very high number of patrol cars.
3. Patience: My impatience led me to drive well over the legal limit and to a costly a speeding ticket. Not to mention I was much later to my meeting than I would have been if I had simply slowed down.

Lack of one of these "P's" can be a stumbling block on the way to your goals. Lack of all three can be a recipe for disaster, and they all feed into one another. We tend to have an unconscious need to compensate for a lack of preparation with a rushed, often reckless acceleration.

Let my lesson be a reminder for you on the way to your goals:
• Prepare. Anticipate obstacles in advance. Remember Murphy’s Law (anything that can go wrong will).
• Be present. Pay attention to your progress, your environment, and the law.
• Be patient. Success may take longer than you had planned. When you learn the lessons from the obstacles along the way you arrive at your goals at just the right time. Most importantly, you develop the characteristics and qualities necessary to sustain success.

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